


Welcome to Your Life.

by orphan_account



Category: South Park
Genre: Alternate Universe - Apocalypse, M/M, attempted suicide, but it's brief, but not actually described in detail, self harm mention, talk of rape and other such things
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2017-05-10
Packaged: 2018-08-22 18:07:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 9,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8295146
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: In the aftermath of nuclear warfare, everybody finds themselves either lost, sick or dead. Welcome to the rest of your life, kids.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Listen I've been preparing for a possible nuclear attack for five years now I want a chance to use what I know.

Despite having his licence for a year, Craig Tucker would never get tired of driving aimlessly. He even had his own "Driving for a while and spending all my money on gas" playlist, which was frequently used. He had saved up since he was fourteen for a car, and despite an addiction to cigarettes putting a dent in the funds throughout the years, he still had enough to buy a crappy used car off the internet, and for some alterations on the sound system, considering the car still had a tape deck. 

Craig's love of driving fit perfectly with his boyfriend, Tweek Tweak's anxiety about operating a car. He had once attempted to drive, but after an anxiety attack and almost crashing the car after a leg spasm forced the pedal in full force, his father had given up teaching him. 

It was nearing the end of summer that Craig and Tweek decided to take a long trip to nowhere in particular. They had started driving around early afternoon, and by early evening they had only just stopped driving, the landscape surrounding them vast and the horizon dotted with mountains. Craig had pulled up the car and gotten out, sitting on the bonnet and lighting up a cigarette. Tweek followed and did the same actions, instead using Craig's lit cigarette to light his own. They both sat in silence, watching the sunset and the first few stars pop out, holding hands. The air was getting chilly, however they were reluctant to move. 

The soft music coming from the car's radio suddenly stopped, a robotic sound taking its place. Both boys jumped and looked behind them, into the car, when they heard a monotonous voice talking. 

"The United States Government has issued this official message. Please note, this is not a drill. Nuclear missiles from an unknown country are currently on course with major cities in the USA. The missiles are roughly fifteen minutes away from impact. If you are located in these cities or the surrounding areas, please find shelter and await further instructions- Washington DC, Los Angeles, Denver, New York, Chicago and Seattle. If you are within four hundred miles of these areas, find shelter immediately. We repeat, find shelter immediately. Seek shelter in the interior of a strong building on the lowest floor. Make sure you have food, water and a battery operated radio. Stand by for a message from the President of the United States on all stations. Do not leave your shelter until the all clear has been given. This is an Emergency Action Notification. All stations shall transmit this message. This is not a drill." 

The robotic drone played again, and the radio went dead. Tweek and Craig stared at each other in silence while the message was playing, both having held their breaths without realising. 

"What's happening?" 

Tweek's voice was shaking, and his large brown eyes filled with tears. Craig was at a loss for words, and blinked his grey eyes a few times, processing what was happening to them. 

After what seemed like hours of silence, Craig spoke, his voice weak and low. 

"We need to get in the car." 

The rapidly darkening sky gave up on emitting any form of light, and the only light sources were the two cigarettes, neglected ash left clinging onto the filters. 

They both got into the car quickly, and turned the radio up. 

"Where can we go?" Craig's hands were starting to shake, but he refused to let his voice do the same. He needed to be there for Tweek right now. 

"We can't go back to South Park just yet. It's like an hour away from Denver, b-but we have no food or water! Where else would we go? Are my parents okay?" 

Tweek's breaths got increasingly short, and he put his head in his knees, hands tangling through his hair. 

"Tweek, hey. Calm down. You've prepared for this, remember? You have to stay with me. You know what to do." 

"We need to get everything in the car together" 

 

The contents of Craig's car were few, but they managed to find: A half empty water bottle, a pack of ibuprofen (minus two), a mini packet of grain waves, some bandaids, both Craig and Tweek's spare jackets, one pair of sunglasses, a baseball bat and a single sock. 

"The missiles should hit in five minutes or so. We need to stay in the car for as long as we can. It's no use moving, we have enough gas to get back to South Park but that's only if we stay here. W-we have to take cover in the car. W-w-we have to get potassium. Fall out. But we're going to have to go back to South Park, the wind from, carried the-"

Tweek's speech was becoming interrupted and fragmented, his eyes erratic and Craig was desperate to hang onto what was left of Tweek's lucidity for as long as possible- they both needed his paranoia and conspiracies to survive this. 

"Tweek! Look at me." Craig gripped Tweek's shoulders and pulled him towards him, resting his forehead on Tweek's own.

"I need you to stay with me, okay. I need you to hang on there. Just until we figure out what to do. Can you do this. Can you stay with me for just a bit longer?" 

Tweek nodded and took a deep shuddering breath, collecting his thoughts for a few seconds. 

"I don't know what kind of bomb they're dropping, but for this k-kind of thing I'll assume the worst. The town itself will be fine. It's the fallout and radiation that will probably kill us. I'd say we're in the 200-1000 rad zone, which will cause serious illness if exposed to. U-uh, we should be fine. If we stay in cover. But the radiation will be absorbed no matter what. So our best bet is wait for the drop, start driving and get home. We then gather our s-supplies and get the hell out of there. I don't know where to go from there I should've built a fallout shelter but I didn't have the TIME GAH!"

Craig pulled Tweek against his chest and rocked him back and forth. 

"You did so good Tweek, you did so good." 

Almost on cue, a bright light was seen in the distance, from the direction of Denver. Craig held onto Tweek throughout this, scared that if he let go he will lose himself as well as Tweek.

"Now, Craig. We gotta go now."

He started driving, while Tweek searched through the radio stations on the car, trying to find one that was any use to them. 

Four hours of driving later, they reached South Park. The town seemed to be a ghost town, windows boarded up and houses blackened, everyone in hiding.

"Who's house do we go to first?" Tweek asked.

"I have been staying at yours, seeing as both our families are-"

Craig stopped, his throat choking up and tears welling in his eyes. Tweek looked at him before realising. Craig's family had been staying in LA for the past week and Tweek's parents had gone to Denver. 

"M-my parents." 

"Ruby" 

Something in Craig clicked then, and he got out of the car, walking into the house. Tweek was frozen in his seat. Craig knew that he'd probably lose Tweek, but right now his mind was focused on only one thing. Getting supplies and then getting the hell out of there. 

Thankfully, the Tweak's paranoid nature had left them gallons of water stored in the study, as well as tinned food, a first aid kid and some tablets marked potassium iodide. Craig was grabbing a gallon of water before he heard Tweek coming into the house. 

"We can't go, I made a mistake. We need to stay here. The fallout is too great, we aren't going to get away from it. We just have to stay here, board the windows up and hide it out for a few weeks." 

Craig was surprised with Tweek's control over his voice, and so they got to boarding up windows, both mechanical in the task, not speaking. Afterwards Craig went upstairs and got the bedding off Tweek's bed, bringing them downstairs and into the study, which was the undesignated safe room. He then guided Tweek to sit down, and then they both allowed themselves to cry.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mental breakdowns ensue. In the most tasteful way possible, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I want their families' deaths to impact them, obviously, but I think survival instinct would kind of push that to the back of their minds for now, instead focusing on whatever is happening in that moment. Then I think their grief would come through nightmares, as they don't really have a way of blocking it out.

Tweek and Craig both found themselves curled around each other, and after a good hour of mourning their families they got up and decided to assess the situation. 

"Do you want some water? I'm not sure how to ration it, but if it's just the two of us we should have enough to last us a while."

Craig knelt down to the water, taking two water bottles out of the supplies and filling them up. 

"I need to check if the electricity and water is on. We have fallout on us, we were stupid waiting to wash it off. Now everywhere's contaminated." 

"It's okay, Tweek. We couldn't have avoided it no matter what we did. It's going to get in our system somehow." 

Tweek nodded, before checking the water and electricity. The electricity was cut off, but thankfully the water was still on. 

"I didn't even realise how dark it's gotten." Craig remarked, upon hearing Tweek's report of the electricity and water.

"There should be flashlights and spare batteries in the supplies, do you think we should get a fire going?"

"How do you think the smoke will affect fallout?"

"I don't know. We should board up the fireplace, just in case. It's going to get cold as hell, though."

Craig got some firewood and started blocking up the fireplace, while Tweek went into the downstairs bathroom and set the bathtub running. After the bathtub was full, he started the shower. They both stripped their clothes and started vigorously washing themselves, the cold seeping into their skin and causing their teeth to chatter. The act was entirely nonsexual, both washing with the intent to get as much fallout off them and then get dry.

"W-we should get rid of the clothes we were wearing. They're contaminated." Tweek said, picking up their clothes and putting them in the upstairs bathroom. Craig then went into Tweek's room, getting clothes for the both of them. Due to Tweek being almost a foot shorter than him (as much as he denies that- he's five  _five_ , for Christ's sake) Craig had accumulated pretty much half his wardrobe into Tweek's drawers. 

They were both dry and under a mountain of blankets in the study, a torch giving off a harsh light, casting shadows around the room. Tweek was still shivering, and Craig wasn't sure if that was due to the cold or the situation. Or both.

"What are we gonna do for coffee? Or food? It's ten o'clock, and neither of us have eaten since lunch." Craig murmured against Tweek's hair.

"Our stove can be lit through matches. We can heat up and boil water through that. I just want to stay here, for now. I'm not hungry."

Despite the gnawing feeling in Craig's stomach, he only held Tweek tighter.

 

                  *********

 

 

After ten minutes or so, they both got out of their sanctuary and gathered food to make. Tweek went to setting up the stove while Craig picked out some beans, bread from the kitchen and some coffee. He had a feeling neither of them would be sleeping that night. 

The bread was already tasting a bit stale, but after toasting it slightly it made for a better meal than what they'd both had for the past week, having survived on pizza. Tweek nursed the coffee like it was his life force, and they both sat at the table in silence.

"Do you mind if I smoke in here?"

An innocent question, Tweek nodded and Craig pulled out two cigarettes. 

"It's not like my parents will object."

Craig stopped, his cigarette poised in his mouth and put his lighter down. Tweek was looking at him but not really. 

"Tweekers,-" 

"I won't have any more complaints of the cost of therapy, the cost of my medications, the toll it's taking on them because they're  _fucking DEAD!_ " 

Tweek's breath became ragged and tears were flowing out of his eyes, his hands furiously raking down his thighs, nails catching on the fabric. Craig quickly restrained his hands and pulled Tweek against him as he screamed, his voice becoming hoarse and weak before stopping entirely, his mouth still hanging open. 

 

When Craig felt that Tweek had calmed down enough, he went and got the nail clippers from the bathroom, gently taking Tweek's fingers and clipping his nails down to the nail bed, whispering words of comfort when Tweek flinched. 

"Can you get me a cigarette." 

Tweek's voice was like sandpaper, and he sounded blocked up, but it was better than the past half hour, where he had barely reacted to anything. 

After having a few, Craig led Tweek to their makeshift bed, where they lay down and desperately tried to let sleep give them some relief.

 

**********

Tweek never went to sleep, but for Craig he faked it until Craig nodded off. After an hour or so Tweek felt Craig tense up and his breath starting to quicken. 

"Craig, wake up. Craig-" Tweek shook him, and Craig jolted awake, panting, a cold sweat just beginning to appear. 

"You were having a nightmare."

"It was Ruby. I kept trying to save her but she was just out of reach, and then her flesh melted off and she told me how I'd done that to her."

"I know, Craig. I know."

"Do you think they felt anything? Do you think they suffered?"

"Probably not. I think they heard the warnings, got into shelter and then were killed."

"So their last moments were spent in terror?"

Tweek looked away from Craig, and Craig let out a few deep breaths.

"Do you think your parent's liquor cabinet is unlocked?"

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shorter, I know. But I wanted to get at least another chapter out today so I can judge where I want to take this. Idk.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some familiar faces meet with the two, some welcomed and others not so.

'Day four. Both of our phones are out of charge, but clocks still working. Keeping track of day or night through cracks in window. Tweek's medication is only going to last another week, but supplies are holding up well. Water conservation in full force, using it only for drinking, however should last us another two weeks. Nightmares almost every time I close my eyes. Always the same one. Tweek hasn't slept since the bomb.' 

 

Craig's hand cramped, and the exercise book turned diary's pages were smudged as the cheap pen sprayed ink. 

"Shit. Any more pens? This one has died."

"That's the third one today. Are our pens really that crappy?"

Tweek handed Craig a blue pen and got back to boiling water. They had settled into a routine, both afraid to break it and acknowledge any realities, since they both got black out drunk the first night. They ate out of saucepans and in plastic dishes, anxious to use any more water than absolutely necessary.  

"Have you had your medication?"

"N-not yet. I was waiting to have it with dinner's water. What are we going to do when it runs out?" 

"I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it?" Craig's mask of indifference was heavily covering the worry in his voice. His gut twisted with the thought of an unmedicated Tweek. 

Their silent activities were interrupted with a knocking at the door. They both looked at each other with concern, unwilling to answer the door. It was only when they heard the unmistakable sound of Kyle's voice yelling their names they opened the door. 

"Kyle? What are you doing here?"

"Thanks for the warm welcome, Craig."

Kyle was wearing a thick winter coat, a hat, gloves and ski goggles. Stan was behind him in similar fashions, and they both looked slightly ill. 

"Why are y-you here? Not meaning we're not happy to see you. We haven't seen anyone since."

"We thought we should go around and see who's here. When the warnings came, almost everyone went into the town hall unless they boarded up their houses and took the risk. But the town hall was set on fire last night." Stan's voice was choked, and he coughed to cover the obvious upset in it.

"Jesus christ. So who's left?" Craig opened the door fully, allowing both of them in. They shed their extra layers, leaving them outside the door. 

"That's what we're trying to find out. Clyde's dad was in Denver, and he had Token, Bebe and Wendy over at the time. They're still there. Kenny, Cartman, Stan and I were hanging out, and when the warnings came we went to my house. Mom, dad and Ike are still there, but mom's gone into some sort of state. She's not talking or moving, really."

"Anyone else?"

"Not sure. We're thinking of rounding everyone up, for number's sake. But since the town hall happened, we're not sure."

"Do you think the town hall was an accident?"

"Fuck no. There's been stories of gangs forming, raiding houses for supplies and shit. The town hall apparently refused to open for anyone, and knowing they couldn't get in or get the supplies they set it alight. No idea who's in a gang, though. Kyle think's Cartman is but there's no evidence."

"Fuck that, Stan! Cartman went out for 'supplies' and came back saying the hall burnt down."

"Anyway, we came here also to warn you guys."

"Warn us from  _what_? I'm pretty sure the worst has already happened." Craig rolled his eyes, but stopped when he noticed Kyle and Stan's looks between them. 

"Everyone knows about Tweek."

"W-what do you mean?" Tweek's eyes widened and his hands flew to his mouth, biting his nails nervously.

"We all know you've been preparing for some sort of disaster your whole life, and if Cartman or anyone else who knows you  _is_ in a gang, they'll waste no time looting you. You're lucky we're friendly."

"So what should we do?" Craig had stopped Tweek's hands without realising it, and had now pulled him close. 

"Come with us? Safety in numbers, I guess. Stan brought his dad's truck so we can carry supplies. We're all at Clyde's now for lack of a better place. Plus his basement is pretty big. Also he had a generator. But phone connection is dead, obviously." 

Craig looked at Tweek. 

"Can we talk about it alone?" 

Stan nodded and Craig and Tweek went into the kitchen.

"What do you think?"

"Can we t-trust them?" 

"I highly doubt they're in a gang. Plus, if they wanted to loot us they wouldn't have warned us."

"But should we go with them?"

Craig looked around the kitchen, and sighed. Despite the routine they've developed, Craig knew it couldn't last forever. Near isolation would only hurt Tweek further, he knew. 

"We should."

Stan and Kyle were still in the living room, and Craig and Tweek came out saying they'd join them. They both looked relieved, and Craig led them into the study, where they all went to transporting supplies.

"Wait, you two need protection before you go outside. Fallout is pretty bad." Kyle looked towards the front door, as if regarding the coats and such they left outside it. 

After piling on the heaviest coats they could find, they got to the task of transporting all the supplies to the truck. When they settled inside, they were both sweating. Craig reached to pull off his coat when Kyle stopped him. 

"Craig no! This car is full of fallout. We couldn't make it a clean area because the doors were open when a wind went through."

Grumbling something Craig rolled his eyes, and Tweek took his hand. The drive to Clyde's was short, and when they unloaded everything they were met with everyone in the basement. 

Apart from the expected "Thank God you're okay"s, no one else really reacted. Craig suspected Stan and Kyle had brought back a few strays, considering they counted a few more heads than initially told. 'Few' meaning Karen and Butters.

There were a total of eleven people in the room. 

"Where's lard-ass?" Craig asked, looking around the room. 

"Cartman? He left a day ago." Kenny answered, sitting on the sofa with Karen while she was silently crying. Upon noticing Tweek's concerned look, he mouthed 'parents', to which Tweek assumed they hadn't made it. 

"Told you he's in a gang." Kyle's sentence was punctuated with a coughing fit, so powerful it forced him to get on his knees. 

"They were in the woods when the announcement came. Ended up being outside during the whole thing, came back and Cartman had lost vision in an eye, Kyle's been coughing like that ever since. Stan and Kenny have seemed to have missed the full effect, although Stan's lost a bit of weight."

Wendy came up behind them and startled both Tweek and Craig, causing the former to let out a 'GAH!' of surprise. 

"We missed the whole thing. Came back, and set up camp in Tweek's house."

"Good." Wendy looked them both up and down. "You guys seemed to have missed as much as possible, then. Stan, Kyle and Kenny insist on going outside and getting supplies, seeing as they're 'already exposed.' Cartman refused to when he was here. I think it's killing Kyle, but he doesn't want to worry anyone."

"Where do you think Cartman actually went?" Craig asked her. 

"Gang most definitely. Wouldn't be surprised if he ended up having formed one of the big ones, but he's part of one for sure."

"How do you know?" 

"He asked me to go with him." 

Bebe joined Wendy, and the first thing Craig noticed was that her hair had thinned out considerably. 

"What are their positions gonna be, Wends?" Her usually high and energetic voice was flat, and her blue eyes were dull.

"Positions?" Tweek enquired. 

"We figured to distract ourselves, we'd all have a job to do, I guess. Stan, Kyle and Kenny go out, Token and I take care of the sick or injured seeing as we did that course last summer about first aid, Bebe and Clyde generally make sure everything's pretty tidy, as well as boiling water. Butters and Karen cook. So what do you two want to do?" 

"We've already been exposed, so we could do runs?" Craig suggested.

"Don't be stupid, we're all exposed to fallout, but sure."

Wendy whispered something to Bebe, and she took Tweek to show him around. Wendy stepped closer to Craig, and despite her 5 foot 3 frame, he felt more intimidated than he'd ever been. Her grey eyes looked into Craig's own, and she spoke in a low voice.

"Tweek isn't going outside. The gangs are fucked, Craig. There are stories of them doing shit that Cartman wouldn't even do. Cannibalism, murder, rape, that type of shit. I don't care if you go out, because you can keep a cool head. Which is the only reason I think Tweek's even alive. We can't afford losing anyone right now, and you're going to be off your game if you're babysitting Tweek out there."

Craig swallowed the lump forming in his throat and nodded. 

"Tweek can help Clyde and Bebe. There's never enough water cleaned, so he can boil water." 

Craig gave another quick nod, before they were interrupted by Kenny and Stan. 

"We're going to the pharmacy. Anything else anyone needs while we're out?"

"They made a list, and Craig's going with you." 

Wendy handed Kenny a piece of paper, and motioned for Craig to follow Kenny and Stan upstairs.

 

"So Wendy got you into the suicide mission?" Kenny joked, his dimples deepening and a toothy smile appearing on his face.

"I volunteered." 

"So we've got a hero on us." 

"Not a chance. I've already been exposed, that's why. Don't underestimate me leaving you two behind if it means saving my own skin."

"You mean saving  _Tweek_ 's skin." Kenny quipped. 

"Potato, potato" Stan murmured, pulling on his jacket. 

"Why isn't your butt buddy coming?" Craig asked Stan, having heard the comment. 

"Have you heard Kyle? That fallout shit is doing more than radiation. I swear, it's poisoning us. Bebe hasn't even been outside and she's looking like death warmed up." 

"So why are some people effected and others not?"

"Fuck if I know. We're just trying to find the right medication that puts a dent in this."

"We already lucked out on Jimmy." Kenny said quietly. 

"Jimmy?" Craig asked.

"Yeah," Stan answered, "Jimmy was with us. Kenny brought him back on a run. He was real bad, though, and he died after a day. When Kyle got sick, we thought, well maybe it only gets the already weak, you know, because Jimmy was crippled and Kyle's diabetic. But when Bebe started getting weird, we were clueless." 

"Our best hope is survival. Either surviving the poison in the air or some gang coming after us." Kenny said as he opened the door. 

"What about Cartman? He knows exactly where we are, how much supplies we have and he's in a gang."

"I reckon he's going to try and negotiate with us as soon as he has enough power." 

"Fuck."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woohoo more characters!  
> If you haven't noticed, the effects of the radiation is fictional. It just makes it more interesting. Just like not having military interference or any parents makes it more interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite all his efforts, Craig can't always protect Tweek.

"We're going to the pharmacy, right?" Craig asked as he got into the back of Stan's truck.

"What's left of it, yeah." Stan said, starting the engine with some difficulty. 

"What do you mean, 'what's left of it'? It's been four days!" 

"You were MIA up, dude," Kenny said, craning his head back to look at Craig. The orange parka not unlike the one from their youth muffling his voice, "People went crazy. First there were the ones who didn't get back in time and were hit with the full force of the radiation," He motioned to himself and Stan, "That shit changes you. In some people it just makes them sick, but in others, it-"

"Not now, Kenny." Stan said, interrupting Kenny.

"Anyway, everyone got so scared and shit, the radios cut out so we were in the dark. But then when people didn't see a huge explosion or a mushroom cloud like on tv, they figured it was safe to go out. But everything was different. It's been grey skies because of the ash, which is covering pretty much everywhere. In the first day it was so bad you could barely see."

"No, Tweek and I came back a few hours after the explosion and we didn't see any of that shit."

"Yeah, the wind hadn't brought all that shit back from Denver yet.  _Anyway_ , people got ruthless when the town hall burnt down. Everyone who was in there are people who have some common sense, which is why we're all here. Plus, they kind of stopped you going into the 'safe space' if you weren't their type. My whole family got turned away, and I found Karen on the streets during a run, my parents' dead bodies lying next to her. It was brutal, I'm telling you. But you pretty much have everyone who is the lower part of society left, with no authority left everyone just went wild. Looting, raping, killing. It's amazing how quick people turn when they don't having someone to tell them they can't do that stuff."

"The gangs formed pretty quickly, all the underlying tension since before the attack just got set free." Stan added. 

"Yeah, pretty much crip and blood stuff, they'd been there for ever, but couldn't do anything because of police and shit. The town hasn't turned into a mob town yet, although I wouldn't be surprised to see Cartman's fat ass at the head. It's kind of everyone banding together and trying to survive, and then have some fun."

  
Stan stopped the car with as much grace as the old vehicle could have, and got out. Kenny and Craig followed, quickly getting into the pharmacy. 

"Okay, so we're just gonna take what we need and leave. No trying to start shit. I mean it this time, Ken." 

Kenny made an army salute and went to gather supplies. 

Craig went up to the prescription counter and jumped it, going behind into the vast aisles of medicines. 

It was then he realised he had no idea what medication Tweek actually used. 

"Shit!" Craig racked his brain trying to remember, but to no avail. 

"What's wrong, Craig!"

Stan had entered with his bat ready, but when he saw only Craig he lowered it. 

"I have no idea what meds Tweek is on." 

"What's his diagnosis? Maybe we can try and find a universal medication that'll help?" 

Craig swallowed, knowing Tweek's diagnosis was something very personal to him, and something that only Craig knew of. But he put this aside, knowing that it would benefit Tweek more to have at least some medication and Stan know, than be cold turkey. 

"Schizophrenia. Not sure the specifics, but the whole paranoia plus seeing shit type?"

"Uh, that's some heavy shit. I don't know what medication would be used for that, but we could both have a look and see if a bottle says anything about what it's used for?" 

Craig nodded and started scanning the aisles, Stan doing the same. 

After ten minutes, they both decided to give up. Craig was reluctant, but grabbed as many bottles as he could, figuring at least one would help Tweek. 

"Kenny?" Stan called out to the pharmacy, hearing only an echo. 

"KENNY?" 

A grunt was heard, and Stan and Craig both rushed to the source. Kenny was pinning up a man against a shelf of tampons, kneeing him in the groin repeatedly. 

"Jesus Christ, Kenny!" 

"This friend here wanted to have the last of the bandages. Got a 'lil aggressive, if you ask me." 

Kenny gave him one last kick to the groin, and when he dropped to the ground a friendly stomp on the head, before walking towards Stan and Craig. 

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Kenny smiled, spitting some blood on the floor and walking towards the exit. 

 

************

 

Tweek was sitting at Clyde's table, his pills laid out in a straight line. He was staring at them intently, before gathering them all in his hand. Looking at them all, together in his palm, he walked over to the kitchen. 

He reached into the cabinet with Clyde's dad's liquor, and taking out a bottle of vodka he set it on the kitchen bench. Acting on impulse, his mind screaming at him to think this through, he stuffed the pills in his mouth and quickly swallowed them with vodka. He then took a few more swigs to be on the safe side. Stumbling, he went upstairs to the spare bedroom and collapsed on the mattress. 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm screaming at myself, SHOW DON'T TELL!!! but really I wanted da boyz (I'm gonna refer to Craig and Tweek like that now haha) to be completely in the dark, kind of focused on each other at first to truly scope out the world.  
> Also short chapter I know forgive me, but two in one day ain't bad, ay?


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reflections, of sorts.

It was thanks to Kyle's stubborn nature and Wendy's incessant need to 'fix' everyone around her the two stumbled upon Tweek.

"You're obviously not fine, Kyle! You're coughing your guts out, so just come and lie down in the spare room. Five minutes. Please?"

Wendy barged into the room, practically dragging Kyle behind her, when she stopped in her tracks. Her mouth dropped open when she noticed Tweek on the bed, a bottle of vodka next to him and his empty pill container. While her mind was struggling to process the scene around her, her body leapt into action and immediately followed the steps she knew so well. Get into bathroom, induce vomiting, CPR if necessary. Kyle helped her lift the dead weight, and he started shaking Tweek to wake him up, while Wendy forced her fingers down his throat. 

Tweek coughed up a mixture of pills, coffee and vodka in Clyde's tub, tears streaming down his face. He gasped vomited some bile, before slumping against the edge of the tub. 

"Why did you wake me up?" He said croakily, not looking at either of them. 

Kyle knelt down and put a hand on Tweek's shoulder, gingerly bringing him against his chest, rocking him. 

"I'm not meant to survive this, I can't even last a day without medication, I'm not fit for normal life let alone this. I'm useless! I can't help in any way, I'm surprised you haven't thrown me out yet!" Tweek leaned over to vomit some bile in the tub again, before settling against Kyle's chest and sobbing. Wendy reappeared with a glass of water, and handed it to Tweek, who drank it greedily. 

The unmistakable noise of the front door opening alerted Kyle and Wendy to Craig's return, while Tweek seemed unresponsive. Wendy ran downstairs, and moments late Craig was in the small bathroom, demanding to know what happened. 

"How the  _fuck_ did something like this happen? How did he do it? Why didn't you stop this? Get the  _fuck_ off him, Kyle!" 

Kyle obliged, motioning for Craig to take Tweek's body off his own, where Craig put him on the spare bed. 

"He, uh, took the rest of his pills with half a bottle of vodka, I'm guessing. He vomited it all up, but it was really only coffee, vodka and bile. The pills were only just dissolving, so he probably doesn't have any effects from the actual overdose in itself. I don't know why he did it."

Wendy's voice was level, and she had the tone of a soldier struggling to keep in line. Her voice wavered once, to which she cleared her throat. 

"He spoke, and yelled. A bit. So he's not damaged, brain wise. The pills couldn't dissolve in time, I mean." 

She left quickly, leaving Craig to turn his gaze towards Kyle. 

"He just yelled some stuff about not being meant to survive this, and how he wasn't fit for normal life and that he was useless. I'm not sure exactly." He looked down at Tweek, and swallowed. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Thanks for, you know. Dealing with it." 

Kyle shrugged and left, leaving Craig to lie down on the bed next to Tweek.

"Tweekers, what were you thinking?"

"I hate this, Craig! I'm no good. I'm no good, I just threw away the rest of the pills, you know I'm going to start getting weird. It's better if you just put a bullet in my head."

"Jesus, Tweek,-"

"You're better off without me. You can survive something like this, it'll work out for you. I'm going to only hold you down! I see this tunnel and I see no light, and right now you can't see a light, because I'm blocking it. And while I'm blocking it, I'm looking the other way. No, I'm blind. I can't see a light at the end of this, I can't see anything."

Craig sighed and pulled Tweek against him, tucking his head under his chin. "So what do we do now?"

"I don't know."

"How long do you think you have before, y'know?"

"It's probably already happening." 

"It's gonna be okay, Tweek."

"No, it's not."

"I know."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a short chapter, i know but i didn't really want to write after that ending, idk it would've felt cheap to continue with the chapter. anyway, i'm really hoping to add some sort of sci-fi elements, also to explain shit like kenny's deaths, i've got some ways outlined in my head. i also want to include more wendy, because i think it'll be interesting to explore her in more depth, also more style (bc it's in the tags but not rlly included yet im so sorry!!)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wendy confronts a tough decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god sorry for the delay, i've honestly had the shittiest few days (just reminding myself a month before i graduate school forever) but i'm back, + wendy centric chapter!

Wendy was in Clyde's basement, half watching over the sleeping figures and half fiddling with her phone. Despite Clyde's generator keeping all electronics charged, service had gone down and there was no internet connection, rendering the devices useless in terms of communication. Growing restless, she went upstairs to recount supplies. They had enough for everyone in the house for a month at most, but with Kenny, Stan and Craig going out almost daily bringing back more supplies, she knew they'd be alright. They haven't had to ration just yet, three meals a day for everyone, but if weather worsened they'd have to start. A nuclear winter had come down, with thick snow blanketing everything, sunlight almost non-existent due to constant black clouds in the sky. South Park's winter was long and brutal, so this was nothing they hadn't faced before, but the threat of radioactivity added an element that, surprisingly, they hadn't dealt with. 

After rechecking supplies, she decided to grab a cigarette from Craig's open pack, and sat in the kitchen. Before everything had happened, she'd never touched a cigarette, but she decided that if the world was ending, she might as well get lung cancer in the process. 

A tapping from the window was heard, and Wendy looked up to see a large figure at the window. Despite the threat of danger, Wendy opened the front door. 

"Cartman." 

He had lost weight, but still retained the stocky figure he's always had, and was carrying a gun and a baseball bat.

"Wendy."

He broke into a smile and she let one slip, as they hugged. 

"I haven't seen you in ages." She said, tears threatening to spill. 

"Why aren't you covered up? Fallout's a bitch, don't you know? Shit, you know. You're the smartest person I know." 

Wendy laughed, and blinked a few times, willing the tears away. 

"Who gives a shit, really. We're all exposed, and it's going to kill us all, eventually." 

"Or make you a freak."

Wendy stepped back from the hug, and looked Cartman in the eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you seen? The fallout either kills you, or makes you fucked up. One of my guys grew huge tiger-like teeth, sharp ones too. Another got this freaky ass hearing, and Kenny can't die." 

"What?" 

"I killed Kenny a few days ago. Shot him in the head. He sat up, laughed, and pulled the bullet out of his fucking brain."

"Well, has anything happened to you?"

"Nah. Not yet, but I think it either kills you or turns you weird, once you're exposed enough. We'll all find out, soon enough."

"Why are you here?"

Cartman looked away, biting his lip. Wendy noted that he looked genuinely nervous, something she couldn't remember the last time she saw. 

"Come with me."

" _What?_ "

"Seriously. I run half this town, I can keep you safe. I'm like the Tony Soprano of this shithole, my guys got us the best safe houses, the best supplies, the best weapons." 

"What about them?" Wendy said, gesturing to the house. 

"Fuck them. I'd consider letting Butters if he wasn't a pussy, but you and me, Wends. We're both smart as shit. In this crazy world, the smart survive. The smart and the ruthless." 

"I'm, I'm not like you. I'm not like those gangs."

"Bullshit. You got a substitute teacher sent  _into the sun_ because you thought she was trying to get with Stan."

Wendy smiled, but quickly caught herself and looked away from Cartman.

"I don't know. Those are my friends, I can't abandon them. I have to try and help Bebe and Kyle-"

"Everyone else can help them. Stop torturing yourself with trying to fix everybody. You have to look out for yourself, you have to keep yourself safe. I can do that. Can they?" 

"This is the second time you've asked me to join you. Why me?"

"Isn't it obvious?" 

He kissed her, and after a moment of shock she leaned into it, before pulling away.

"I can't do this. Not now. Maybe people like Tweek and Craig or Stan and Kyle can fuck knowing everything's ending, but I can't." 

"I get it. But maybe the world doesn't end. Maybe we get out of it. Do you want to die with them or survive with me?" 

"You know I want to be with you, but it's complicated. Bebe needs me."

"Alright. I'm not giving up, though. Come find me if you want. Ask for me." 

Wendy went inside, leaving Cartman on the porch. 

Kyle was inside, sitting at the table reading.

"Wendy, you can't-"

"Give it a rest, Kyle. I'm still here, aren't I?" 

"Are you? Because everyone else might be clueless, but it's hard to think about waking up and you've vanished with  _Cartman_ of all people, probably torturing innocent people with his stupid gang!" 

"I'm not going to leave, okay! Can't you just trust me? I've stayed for this long. He asked me to go with him before, a day after it all started. I'm still here. I'll always be here. I'm not going to leave."

Kyle stood up, unconvinced and went downstairs. Wendy slumped against a cabinet and looked at her phone. 4:39am. She should wake Token up for his watch. She should do a lot of things. 

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this bitch is back and wanting 2 do shit with this again lmao

The surprisingly rapid effects of the nuclear warfare stumped what scientists were left. The American government was basically non-existent,  as more missiles had headed towards the remaining major cities as well as documented military bases. 'Shadow' governments were in the process of forming, despite only two weeks having passed since the first missiles hit. However, what power these shadow governments had was limited considering the military's involvement being minimal.  
The military that was left was told to retaliate with what resources they had left, however without a definite source of the attack, they had alienated any potential allies that could have been formed by attacking China, North Korea, Russia, England and Italy. 

The reason for the military's quick and reckless retaliation was currently being studied by a small group of scientists that had banded together in the aftermath. They called themselves ROACH, the obvious reference being the cockroach that survives the nuclear bomb. ROACH had discovered the fallout induced, among other effects, the rapid deterioration of the parts of the brain associated with rational thinking, judgement and foresight. In some subjects, notably those with blood type A-, the body had produced strange symptoms in a desperate attempt to try and stop the fallout- these being defence mechanisms found in other animals that the body had tried to replicate. One subject grew long, sharp claws from where the fingernails and toenails used to be, as well as the strengthening of the skeleton. Another had developed night vision, as well as heat sensing from up to 4 miles away from the subject itself. 

ROACH were at a loss as to why the body developed these mutations, however had some idea as to why the unknown country or countries developed nuclear weapons capable of such rapid degeneration of the human mind. Their best theory being that the attacker wanted the United States to become a wasteland, inhabited by few survivors, but overall a wasteland, obviously rendering the US government dead, and the former superpower out of the question, their former place at the top taken over by another country, or a new world government.

 

 

****

 

Kyle had somehow gotten everyone currently staying at Clyde's house _in_ the house at the same time, and sat at the dining table (the dining table being much too small to accomodate everyone, only around 5 people actually sitting, as opposed to standing around.). 

"I, erm, figured this was a good time to kind of talk about what we're gonna do. For the future, I mean. Look, there hasn't been any ash mixed in with the snow for a few days, and at this point if we are gonna die from radiation wouldn't we want to, y'know, not be locked up here?"

There was a murmur of agreement throughout the group. 

"So, I was thinking, and I don't know if this is a great idea, but we're going to run out of supplies, and food places are already running low, plus we've-" Kyle looked at Wendy, who looked confused until she looked down sheepishly, "had an  _offer_."

The table was silent for a few seconds before Wendy cleared her throat.

"Cartman came a while ago offering me a place in his group," She neglected to use the term 'gang', "saying he had weapons as well as general protection. He was probably exaggerating but he said he had the best supplies and safe houses. The offer's still open."

"Why would he take us? Cartman hates us, and we hate him." Craig asked. 

"He was pretty, uh, adamant, about wanting me," Tweek whispered something to Craig, and he snickered. "And I could probably convince him to take all of us in." 

"What's the guarantee that he would take us all in?" Token asked, who was currently standing next to Wendy, but purposely not looking at her. 

"Look, I have no idea, but we all go way back with him. This goes past some petty high school bullshit drama, this is life and death! I'm sure he would be willing to turn the other cheek if you all do."

"Well, if the Jew is willing to side with the nazi, I'm sure we can too." Kenny said, earning a punch in the arm from Stan. 

"Thanks, Kenny." Kyle said, rolling his eyes. "Any objections?" 

Aside from some shrugs, the table was still silent. 

"Well, I'll organise it tonight. Stan, would you come with me?" Wendy said, currently playing with skin around her nails in a nervous fashion. 

"Don't see why not." 

"Well, group meeting over, I guess." Kyle said, standing up and leaving the room. It took a few moments for everyone to do the same, continuing their tasks. 


	8. Chapter 8

"Are you sure about this Wendy? We can go back at any time."

Wendy, Stan, Kenny and Butters were currently in Randy's truck, a handpicked team of people Cartman only  _slightly_ hated. They were parked a few blocks away from the Wallmart, which had been taken over by Cartman's gang since the beginning. It made sense really, they now had almost unlimited supplies of pretty much everything. 

"What other option do we have?" Wendy snapped, causing Stan to shrug his shoulders and look down. Kyle and Bebe hadn't improved, and the cabin fever from the group as a whole had caused tensions to rise.   
Wendy pulled her long hair up into a bun on the top of her head, securing it with a hair tie. 

"You're just going to expose yourself to more radiation." Stan smirked.  

"He likes it like this." Wendy deadpanned. It was then, Stan realised, how truly ruthless his childhood girlfriend could be. He was then reminded of the substitute teacher incident, and considered himself lucky Wendy was loyal enough not to abandon them. 

"So, what should we do?" Butters piped up from the back, ever eager to please. 

"We should probably go in with you, right?" Stan looked to Wendy for confirmation, as she nodded. 

"Maybe not you, Ken. He did shoot you. You should wait out of sight in case anything goes to shit."   
Kenny shrugged, pointing to the gun he was holding. He was wearing an orange bandana across the bottom half of his face, which he said was for fallout protection, but also happened to be a childhood habit he had grown back into. 

They all exited the car, before walking towards the Wallmart, Kenny lingering behind, gun ready. 

 

****

 

Cartman was waiting for them, standing in front of two boys they didn't recognise, both heavily armed. 

"Wendy."

She visibly relaxed at the sight of Cartman, smiling and walking towards him. 

"I've made a decision. I'll join, but only if the rest of the group gets to come."

Cartman looked behind Wendy to Stan and Butters, who were looking not nearly as intimidating as Cartman's men. 

"So, Stan and Butters?" 

Wendy shook her head. "The whole group. It's all or nothing."

"I can't say I'm surprised, but," Cartman held up a hand to the men behind him. "I do wish you'd reconsider." 

"You're not going to threaten me,  _Eric_ , are you? I really hoped it wouldn't have to come to that." She stepped forward, almost touching him. "I really hoped." 

Wendy and Cartman exchanged un breaking eye contact, an unspoken battle between them. 

"Fine. But not Kyle." Stan made a noise of protest, to which Wendy quickly jerked her hand in a stop motion towards him.  

"I thought you'd grown out of this. I thought you were more mature." 

Cartman pushed Wendy away from him, face reddening. 

"Fuck you,  _slut_! Trying to play me like I'm some sort of idiot. You don't know what the girls in there are doing, I'm getting so much pussy I don't know what to do with it! Like I'd want your bony ass!" 

Wendy stepped back, mouth open. 

Behind Cartman, a flash of orange popped out behind a crate.  _Jesus,_ Stan thought,  _Kenny's a freaking ninja._  

"Gee, Eric," Butters choked out, "Aren't you being a little harsh? I mean, it's awful rude to say such mean things about women."

"Shut the fuck up, Butters. Deal's off. Good luck there without me." Cartman turned around and walked away, the two men following him. Once he was out of sight, Kenny walked out from behind the crate to the group. 

" _Shit_!" Wendy said through gritted teeth. "I almost had him there." 

"Don't blame yourself, Wends." Stan put a hand on her shoulder, which she quickly shrugged off. 

"No, I fucked up. I was too confident. I really thought I had him, and now Kyle and Bebe-" 

"Hey, what if we just raid a pharmacy and grab a ton of vitamins for them or something?" Kenny interrupted. 

"Whatever." Wendy said, walking back towards the car.

 

****

By the looks on their faces as they returned, the remaining members of the group knew it hadn't gone well. 

Kyle looked ready to interrogate Wendy, but she pushed past him. "Dude, just don't push it right now." Stan murmured, to which Kyle nodded. 

 

Tweek and Craig were sitting on the floor of Clyde's master bathroom, smoking. Clyde had enforced a strict 'bathrooms only' smoking rule, since he claimed his dad would kill him if he smelled smoke in the house. No one had the heart to argue.   
"Hey Tweek?" Tweek looked up at Craig, who was intensely focusing on ashing his cigarette.

"Yeah?"

"I was just gonna say you've been doing really well. For what I can tell, I guess. I'm really proud of you."

Tweek let out a single, humourless laugh. "I mean, all my crazy conspiracies have basically happened, and I've been too busy really to freak out about the shadows moving or the eyes in the walls. But thanks."

"Not to cheapen what I just said but uh, I've been noticing."

Tweek straightened his back, pulling his limbs in towards himself. "Noticing what?"

"We share a bed. We also sleep in t-shirts because Clyde has an abundance of blankets. I've noticed the new marks."

Tweek sighed, knowing he was defeated. "Can you really blame me?"

"No. I just wish you didn't have to resort to it. You can tell me when you're feeling like that, you know. You don't have to lock yourself away and suffer alone."

"I'm a burden, Craig. I don't want you to have to deal with my shit, okay! We could die at any moment and you shouldn't have to worry about my petty bullshit." Tweek got increasingly loud, and by the end of the phrase had practically curled into a ball. 

Craig scooted over and wrapped his arms around Tweek, putting his chin on top of his hair. "I'd explain how wrong you are, but it'd take all day. And I know it wouldn't get through to you, but maybe this will. I love you. I love taking care of you, not in a weird, fetishising way, but I love being the one to take care of you. It's probably the only thing keeping me sane throughout this, knowing that I have to get out of bed, be productive, because you need me."

Tweek sniffed. "That's pretty gay."

"Yeah." 

He rested his head against Craig's chest and relaxed in his arms. "You're pretty gay."

"So are you, dick." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> im trash and i love trash


	9. Chapter 9

Despite all bar two being asleep, the air still felt tense. Craig and Tweek were on watch, and despite them being the only two meant to be awake, they could tell that more than a few were awake, nervously tossing and turning in their beds (or couches, or floors). 

"You want coffee?" Craig asked, walking towards the kitchen. 

"Like that's even a question." Tweek tried to give Craig a small smile, but it looked more like a twitch turning into a grimace. 

The electricity being cut left all their devices dead, and they had all agreed to leave the generator for the necessary things- heat, gas and light. They'd been without phones for a while, but Tweek still found himself holding the device in his hand, pressing the on button and fiddling with it, even swiping his finger across the screen as he would unlock the phone, before putting it back in his pocket. The weight, one that used to be a comforting reminder that he could always contact someone in an emergency, was now heavy on his heart, a grim reminder that he couldn't contact anyone lest he got left on his own. 

Lately, the generator had been leaving lights flickering with prolonged use, along with heat and gas taking a few minutes to turn on and warm up. Perhaps it was just the quality, or that it had been the sole source of power for so long, but everyone was anxious it would just stop. Going without it would be tough in terms of gas and light, but the absence of heat would be the hardest burden to bear, firewood becoming scarce, the constant rain and snow leaving it damp and useless. The teens had regarded South Park a small town before, but the fight for supplies had made them realise how big it could seem. 

Craig handed Tweek his coffee and sat down, sipping his own. 

"What do you think Cartman was talking about? With the crazy shit happening to people?" Tweek shuffled closer to Craig on the couch they were sitting on, their thighs touching, anxious to take it any further. 

"He's full of shit. You know that."

"Yeah, but. Stranger things have happened."

Craig put an arm around Tweek, who took it as confirmation to let himself melt fully into Craig's embrace. They were sitting like this for a few minutes, before they were interrupted by a timid knock on the front door. 

"Hello?" A small voice asked, definitely a young girl. "Is there anyone here? I'm scared, it's so cold." 

Tweek and Craig both looked at each other, straining their ears to hear any other sounds. They were thankful that they'd only bothered to light a single candle, and Craig quickly blew it out. 

"Please? I don't know where I am. I don't know where my mommy and daddy are... I'm so scared." 

Tweek moved slowly off the couch and darted to the window, opening the curtain a crack from the side to peek out. Four large trucks were outside on the street, and many people were in front of them, armed. 

Tweek inhaled sharply, whispering to Craig that they were surrounded. They quickly rose everyone from sleep, all while the little girl's voice got increasingly desperate. 

Everyone snuck around, trying to grab what was absolutely necessary and went to escape through the back door, through Clyde's backyard where they had parked their vehicles. 

The little girl was now banging on the door, sobs interrupting her pleas that they would open the door. They heard a gruff voice say 'Fuck it' before the unmistakable sound of a gunshot and the thump of the girl's body against the front door. 

Bebe shrieked, brief but loud. 

The front door was knocked open and four men barged in, guns ready. The group scrambled outside, as more men came in through the windows and started shooting. Despite shooting back at them, the group quickly retreated. There was no time to look back, everyone concerned about saving themselves. 

When they were in the backyard, loading the cars, Kenny looked around, his heart sinking. 

"Karen's not here."

Stan grabbed his wrist, urging him to come with him into the car.

"KAREN'S NOT HERE, STAN." He yelled, ripping his arm out of Stan's grip and rushing back inside. In this short time, the unknown people had managed to raid the house, and Kenny could hear them upstairs rumaging about. He saw a body he didn't recognise on the floor, along with a few more. 

Karen, Ike, Clyde, Bebe and Butters' bodies were strewn about carelessly, blood leaking from the gunshot wounds, all expertley placed in the middle of their foreheads. 

" _Jesus Christ_ " Stan gasped, having ran in to grab Kenny, and vomited on the floor.

"We gotta go." Kenny said, his voice gruff, before turning around and getting into the nearest car. 

 

 


End file.
